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Rock/metal

Tarantula AD

If I could steal an Ice Cube line: I started this gothic classical gangsta metal shit - that glockenspiel-infused mix of Godspeed! You Black Emperor and Melvins with CocoRosie thrown in - and this is the thanks I get? A big violin trio that steals my name, inserts a spider before it and drops gorgeous Kemado label epics Book of Sand and Atlantic? Oh. And you got funky Tim Fite and swampy Silversun Pickups to open? Cool.

—A.D. Amorosi

Fri., Aug. 4, 8 p.m., $10, with Tim Fite and Silversun Pickups, First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., 866-468-7619, www.r5productions.com.

Folk/pop/rock

Grant-Lee Phillips

For his fourth solo album, ex-Grant Lee Buffalo frontman and sometime Gilmore Girls troubadour Grant-Lee Phillips gives his faves the acoustic treatment. On nineteeneighties (Zoe), Phillips takes songs by the kings of the cult acts — Robyn Hitchcock, Nick Cave, Pixies — and strips them of their quirks, leaving only a woodsy aftertaste of yearning and sincerity.

—M.J. Fine

Wed., Aug. 9, 8:30 p.m., $16, Tin Angel, 20 S. Second St., 215-928-0770, www.tinangel.com.

Rock/metal

Jeffrey Gaines/Hannah Bingman

A loyal and loving fan base comes out in droves when Jeffrey Gaines plays Philly, and for good reason: Onstage, the guy totally delivers the goods — great folk-rock melodies, stellar guitar playing and lots o' passion. Opener Hannah Bingman is a recent college grad and Susquehanna Folk Music Society Songwriting Contest winner who has been charming audiences via coffeehouses/punk shows since she was all of 16.

—Nicole Pensiero

Sat., Aug. 5, 7 and 10 p.m., $22, Tin Angel, 20 S. Second St., 215-928-0770, www.tinangel.com.

Rock/pop

Sandi Thom

She hasn't even broken in the States yet, but the backlash against Scottish singer-songwriter Sandi Thom — whose song "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker" knocked Gnarls Barkley off the top of the U.K. charts recently — has already begun in Britain. Live music Webcasts from her basement landed Thom a record deal, but the British press has had a good time beating up the singer-guitarist ever since. No matter: Compared to Janis Joplin and KT Tunstall, the gal can certainly sing, and hopefully will ride it out with panache.

—Nicole Pensiero

Sat., Aug. 5, 7:30 p.m., $14-$16, with Matt Duke, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400, www.worldcafelive.com.

Singer-songwriter

The Very Hush Hush

On this year's Mourir C'est Facile (Sao Bento Music), this classically trained California-via-Colorado duo harnesses the sunburst synth-drone perfected by their Denver psych mentors The Apples in Stereo. But then along comes a cut like "Slow Destroyer" or "Love, Like Love," where heavy drums pound such a hyper pulse that you're snapped awake and alert. Screw the name. Tell everyone you know.

—John Vettese

Thu., Aug. 3, 9 p.m., $7, with Jody Hamilton, The Caribbean and Brown Recluse Sings, Tritone, 1508 South St., 215-545-0475, www.tritonebar.com, www.plainparade.org.

experimental/rock

Oppenheimer

This Belfast synth-pop duo sounds sweet and gentle, dontcha think? And there's nothing wrong with simple, dreamy melodies, right? Nudge, nudge? Listen, these guys totally have a thing for our hot and humid shores; their catchy new single's called "Breakfast in NYC" and they like to sing about happy, sunny summers. Dude, go for it.

—Tami Fertig

Thu., Aug. 3, 9 p.m., $8, with Grammar Debate!, Surefire Broadcast and A Sunny Day in Glasgow, The Khyber, 56 S. Second St., 215-238-5888, www.thekhyber.com.

rock/pop

Extra Life

Originally, Dirty Projectors collaborator Nat Baldwin was scheduled to tour with experimental medieval prog-rock duo Seductive Sprigs. But half the Sprigs won't be making the trip, leaving guitarist Charlie Looker to fly solo, debuting a project that will eventually expand to include viola, percussion and a second guitar. You can't hocket alone, so expect something less Dark Ages than the Sprigs, though maybe not as tightly wound as Looker's other project, noisy prog aggressors Zs.

—Shaun Brady

Sat., Aug. 5, 8 p.m., $5, with Nat Baldwin, Peter and the Wolf, and Orca Orchestra, Avant Gentlemen's Lodge, 4028 Filbert St., tonewplanet.com/agl.html.

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